An open collection of baseball's little-known records and curiosities.

"He would have been among the league leaders in batting average for a majority of the season had he had enough plate appearances." -- 2008 St. Louis Cardinals Media Guide about non-roster invitee Mark Johnson

Friday, August 17, 2007

Ridiculously Low Walk Rates

Given the upswing in popularity of stats like on-base percentage over recent years, I thought it'd be fun to look at guys for whom a base on balls was anathema, or worse.

Only six players have managed to take only one walk in 150+ PA in a single season:

Name

Year

PA

Andy Kosco

1970

228

Kim Batiste

1994

214

Doc Powers

1906

192

Al Cuccinello

1935

173

Walter Schmidt

1922

156

Gus Getz

1909

153

Only nine players have ever managed to amass more than 200 PA in a single season with only two bases on balls:

Name

Year

PA

Whitey Alperman

1909

442

Rob Picciolo

1980

281

Shawon Dunston

1999

255

Jack Slattery

1903

228

Oscar Azocar

1990

218

Gus Getz

1914

218

Ivan Murrell

1973

216

Todd Greene

2003

210

Boss Schmidt

1910

207

Five guys have taken three walks in over 250+ PA:

Name

Year

PA

Ossee Schreckengost

1905

429

Rob Picciolo

1979

363

John Warner

1901

305

Pat Hynes

1904

264

Tommy Thevenow

1933

262

Three players took four walks in 300+ PA: Alfredo Griffin in 441 PA in 1984, Bill Killefer in 375 PA in 1913, and Art Hoelskoetter in 330 PA in 1906.

Rounding out the list of guys with five or less walks, three players have taken five walks in 350+ PA: Hal Lanier had 401 PA in 1964, Boss Schmidt had 371 in 1907, and Ellis Valentine did it in 350 PA in 1982. Ivan Rodriguez currently has 5 BB in 2007 in 396 PA.

Let's look at the worst walk rates in those tables.

Name

Year

PA per BB

Andy Kosco

1970

228

Whitey Alperman

1909

221

Kim Batiste

1994

214

Doc Powers

1906

192

Al Cuccinello

1935

173

What about those pesky folks with a walk rate of zero? Here's the eight seasons of over 100 PA with no bases on balls:

Craig Robinson, 1973, 148

Alejandro Sanchez, 1985, 133

Ernie Bowman, 1963, 131

Rob Picciolo, 1984, 128

Harry Bemis, 1909, 126

Champ Osteen, 1908, 115

Bert Adams, 1917, 111

Gus Getz, 1916, 102

Finally, what about those guys who couldn't help but have a walk rate over zero? Here's the top 5 seasons by PA with the only walks being of the intentional variety: